WORK PLAN D. B. for the RESEARCH PROJECT: Eielson AFB, Alaska. July 3, Battelle

Transcription

1 JUL :03 FROM' BATTELLE TO P.053 File: 18G WORK PLAN D. B for the RESEARCH PROJECT: BIOREMEDIATION OF JP-4 IN THE SUB-ARCTIC Eielson AFB, Alaska A joint effort Of Efelson Air Force Base, Air Force Engineering and Services Center, Air Force Human Sy-stems Division, and U.S. Enzvirolnmenilal Protection Agency Risk- Reduction Engineering Laboratory July 3, 1991 Battelle.. Putting Technology To Ysbrk BATTELLE Columbus Division 505 King Avenue Columbus. OH

2 JUL :03 FROM BATTELLE TO E190737?2735-e52 P.04 TABLE OF CONTrENTS INTRODUCTION... I Site Investigation Activities... 3 Soil Gas Survey/Site Selection... 6 Soil and Groundwater Sampling Sample Analysis.... S System Installation and Operation... 8 Installation S Operation... 9 In Situ Respiration Testing Final Field Sampling...I11 Health and Safety Considerations Quality Assurance Final Report APPENDIX APPENDIX A - QAIQC PLAN USED FOR EPA PROJECTS LIST OF TABLES TABLE 1. EPAIAIR FORCE BIOVENTING PROJECT SUMMARIES (TENTATIVE)... LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1. SITE LOCATION OF EJELSON AFB, AX... 2 FIGURE 2. EIELSON AFB, ALASKA WITH EPA PARTICIPATION... 4

3 JUL :03 FROM BATTELLE TO P.05 WORK PLAN for the RESEARCH PROJECT: BIOREMEDIATION OF JP-4 IN THE SUB-ARCTIC Eielson AFB, Alaska A joint effort of Ejelson Air Force Base, Air Force Engineering and Services Center, Air Force Human Systems Division, and U-S. Environmental Protection Agency Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory lhazqdu=fo The Air Force Engineering and Services Center (AFESC) conducts research in many areas in support of the Installation Restoration Program (IRP) which supports the remediation of past contamination of soil and groundwater. The IRP has identified over 1,200 JP-4 fuel spill sites, many of which have high concentrations of petroleum contamination adsorbed or occluded in the soils. *Previously AFESC sponsored research at Hill and T~yndall AFBs has shown bioventing to be a promising, cost effective, means of remediating contaminated soils in situ. The purpose of this project is to extend that research and investigate the application of bioventing technology in a cold wjather climate. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory (RREL) conducts research in a wide range of areas relevant to Environmental Science and Technology. As part of their biosysterns initiative they are supporting bioremtediation research at several sites. At the Bielson AFB site the EPA is supporting a portion of the cold region bioventing study. Specifically, EPA is supporting work to verify the effectiveness of bioventing in a cold region and to evaluate the beneficial effects of active soil heating to improve bioventing efficiency. A site in the sub-arctic environment at Eielson AFB, Alaska (see Figure 1) will be selected to conduct a pilot research study of the efficacy of bioremediation in a cold weather environment. The bioventing system will be designed to determine the utility of soil warming in enhancing bioremediation of JP-4 contaminants. The design will include a control zone where bioremediation will occur at ambient soil. temperature conditions, a passive warming zone where solar heating will be utilized to increase soil temperature, and a active warming zone where soil temperature will be increased by circulating heated groundwater through the vadose zone.

4 JUL :04 FROM BATTELLE TO P.06 CD CD ZI- ZZ

5 JUL :04 FROM BATTELLE TO P.07 * 3 These efforts will seek to maximize the biodegradation rates of JP-4 contaminated sails while minimizing the volatilization process and attempting to eliminate hydrocarbon emission. project will include an initial site characterization to adequately define extent of contamination, the installation of a low-intensity JP-4 bioremediation system with passive and active soil warming components, monitoring of soil gas to asses degradation rates, and a final site investigation to define the extent of remediation. This is an Air Force project with EPA participation to study the effects of soil warming on biodegradation rates. The EPA portion of the project will actively warm 1/3 of the contaminated plume being treated by the Air Force bioventing system (see Figure 2). The Air Force project will include a control (ambient soil temperature) area and a passive solar soil warming test area. 'he total surface area for the Air Force/EPA project, including background areas, will depend upon the site selected but will not exceed 1 acre. This A comparison of the Air Force and EPA project scope is shown in Table 1. The intent is to integrate the data from the Air Force and EPA projects to Oconditions. evaluate bioremediation under active warming, passive warming, and ambient soil temperature The site investigation activities will consist of: (1) an initial soil gas survey to select the study site at Eielson; (2) soil borings and soil sampling; (3) the installation and sampling of groundwater monitoring wells; and, (4) sample analysis. In order to assure that the system is installed and operating this season a fast track schedule has been developed. Battelle received notice to proceed on July 1, 1991 from the Air Force and the following approximate schedule is proposed:

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7 JUL :05 FROM ER' 'ELLE 1W-130 TO S190'e-tVYYib-252 PWY9 * ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~5 TABLE 1. EPAIAR FORCE BIOVENTING PROJECT SUMMARIES (TENTATIVE) - BIELSON AFB Air Force PI~ * Air injection/withdrawal * 2 treatrment- - passive solar - control * Optimize biodegradation/minimize volatilization * In-siru respiration testing 0 - Year I (quarterly) ~~~~~~- Year 2 (annual) - Year 3 (annual) Actively heated soil treatment * Intensive temperature monitoring/determination of thermal effects * In-situ respiration testing - Year I (three) - Year 2 (hree) - Year 3 (twice) * Annual progress report

8 JUL *05 FROM tiri LLLEl-h 10-1Al ~ ~lju Hft.-Hd 1-'0~ 6 A~~~~~2n -~~~CQW DPat Week After Tentative * Initiate Permitting 0 July 1 * Initiate Materials Acquisition 0 July 1 * Receipt of Existing Data 1 July 8 * Initiation of Site Screening 3 July 15 * Presentation (oral) of Work Plan 4 July 22 * Modification and Approval of Work Plan 4 July * Initiation of Site Characterization 4 July 23 * Initiation of Construction 5 July 29 * Initiation of Operation 8 August 8 * Submission of Work Plan Hard Copy 12 September 21 To accomplish this, Battelle has initiated the; acquisition of materials and application for the ADEC required well purging permit. Battelle plans to mobilize a continuous field presence beginning July 15.a We anticipate screening three tielson AFB sites (5-i, E-8, and E-9) the week of July 15. This screeningw will consist of the review of existing data, site reconnaissance, and soil gas analysis. At the end of this screening, working with the Air Force and EPA, a recommended site will be selected and a test plan prepared for verbal presentation at a meeting on July 22 at Eielson AFB. At that time changes will be made in response to verbal comments from Air Force, EPA, and ADEC staff, as required. Assuming agreement is reached, the work plan will be finalied at that meeting and field work will be initiated on July 23. Hard copy of the work plan agreed to at that meeting will follow. Soil Gas Suve/SiteSecto There are several potential sites at Ejelson APE for the Air Force/EPA bioventing project. Soil gas survey techniques will be used to screen three potential sites (designated as Complexes E-i, B-B, and E-9) to determine the area best suited for performance of project activities.

9 JUL :05 FROM' Em FELLE ~ Yibt-8t52 P.11 * ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~7 The ideal Site will have relatively high concentrations Of soil Contamination, but little or no free product (liquid JP-4). Soil gas samples will be analyzed for oxygen, carbon dioxide, and petroleum hydrocarbons (HC) using hand held monitoring equipment. Monitoring instrument responses will be calibrated against known standard gas mixtures. Petroleum hydrocarbons will be measured against a known concentration hexane gas standard. Soland Groundwater Saninli Groundwater at Eielson AFB is typically encountered at approxinately 6 ft. below ground surface. Soil sampling will consist of the advancement of up to 40 soil borings to a depth of approximately 10 ft. Split spoon samplers will be used to collect soil samples during boring activities. All contaminated soil cuttings will be containerized and properly disposed in accordance to.approximately Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) and Air Force regulations. Two-inch diameter pvc monitoring wells will be installed in all soil borings. one-half of the wells will be installed for use as air injection/withdrawal wells to be incorporated into the bioventing system, one monitoring well will be used for withdrawal of groundwater for heating (this well may be increased to 4-inch diameter), the remaining wells will be used as groundwater monitoring wells. Groundwater samples will be collected using teflon bailers. ADEC has indicated that all development and purge waters must be confirmed to be uncontaminated, or must be treated under a ADEC wastewater disposal permit, prior to discharge to the ground surface. Battelle has prepared an application for an ADEC permit to use an activated charcoal water treatment system to treat all contaminated groundwater prior to discharge. Because issuance of the permit may not occur before site investigation activities begin. Battelle wuil containerize all development and purge water for storage on site. Once the permit is issued, Battelle will analyze the water for petroleum contamination. All contaminated water will be treated as specified in the discharge permit prior to release to the ground surface.

10 JUL :06 FROM blritllll 1U-130 U jl (.i(( r Soil and groundwater samples will be analyzed by gas chrornatograph at Utah State University (USU1) Water Research Laboratory. Samples will be analyzed for petroleum contamination using modified standard EPA methods. Appendix A outlines the quality assurance (QA) guidelines followed by tjsu. Purge and development water will be analyzed an-site via C.C. purge and trap methods to assure compliance with the discharge permit requirements. Field GC techniques will be confirmed by at least one independent analysis at IJSU or other outside laboratory. Project. Figure 2 presentss the generalized configuration of the EPA/Air Force Eielson AFB Installation As shown on Figure 2 the three project test areas will be thermally isolated from each other by an insulated vapor barrier. The insulated vapor barrier will extend from the ground surface down to the water table at approximately 6 ft. The passive warming test area will be covered with plastic sheeting or mulch to enhance solar warming of the soil. The passive warming test area mry be insulated during the winter to reduce heat loss. The background areas will not be insulated. In the active warming test area the subsurface will be actively warmed by pumping groundwater from one of the monitoring wells (at approximately 6 gal/min) through one or more water heaters. The water will be heated to approximately 40 degrees centigrade and will then be introduced into a subsurface dispersion manifold located above the water table to release the heated water in or above the contaminated zone. The surface area of the EPA test site will be insulated to help retain heat. No groundwater will be extracted or discharged from the site. The process is designed to biodegrade any hydrocarbons in the circulated groundwater, and will be monitored to assure degradation.

11 JUL :06 FROM 1141 LLLL 1ld-130 IU 1'id(S(&di-Ze r1 * 9 The intention is to install the extraction well, Pump, and the water heaters below the ground surface so that contaminated groundwater is never pumped to the surface. ADEC has indicated that this subsurface configuration will alleviate the need for groundwater treatment. Electricity consumption rates for the water heaters and extraction pump will be recorded in order to quantify cost effectiveness. The control test area will be operated and monitored the same as the two heated areas but will be uninsulated to allow for ambient soil temperature conditions. Ten three-level (approximately 1, 4.5, and 6 ft.) stationary soil vapor monitoring ports will be installed in each test area (control. passive warming, and active warming) to collect periodic soil vapor samples. The bioremediation system will be configured to operate and collect data in all three test areas (EPA active warming, Air Force passive warming, and control contaminated areas) to insure that data from each area is comparable. The bioventing system will consist of air blowers plumbed to the air injection/withdraw wells in the test and background areas. Air flow meters will be installed on * each blower to quantify air flow into each test area. Thermocouples will be installed at various depths in the test areas and in the unheated background areas. The thermocouples will be monitored using a programmable data logger to record teynperature data. OperatiCon Operation of the bioventing system will consist of using the blowers, to introduce oxygen to the vadose zone by blowing atmospheric air into the contaminated subsurface, or by withdrawing uncontaminated soil gas from the background areas to induce an influx of air into the contaminated zone, or both. Soil gas samples% will be taken from the stationary soil vapor sampling ports to analyze for oxygen, carbon dioxide, and total hydrocarbon content. The soil gas sampling schedule will be such that oxygen utilization rates and carbon dioxide evolution rates can be adequately monitored. Thermocouple temperature data will be collected at regular intervals. It is anticipated that the active soil warming system will operate continuously.

12 ~JULF83IS9UJI -bi-6t rxunur thii~llll 1t113t I U ~ 1J((I )nt 1r14 10 In situ respiration tests will be conducted periodically during the study to measure bioremediation rates. Each in situ respiration test (described in detail below) includes measurements of percent oxygen, percent carbon dioxide, and ppm HG vapor conicentratic-n and will be used to determine oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide production and HO degradation. Vapor discharge into the atmosphere will be periodically sampled for benzene concentration to ensure that the system operates below the ADEC stated discharge limit of 2 lbs of benzene per day. System vapor discharge will be periodically monitored with hand held monitoring equipment for the presence petroleum hydrocarbons. If petroleum hydrocarbons are detected a grab vapor sample will be collected and sent to USU to be analyzed by GC for benzene concentration. Grab vapor samples may als be analyzed on site u~ing the field GC. Benzene discharge data will be provided to ADEC, if requested. Total petroleum hydrocarbon discharge (including benzene) is expected to be minimal, if any. In Situ Resniration Testio-g The in situ respirornetry method consists of placing various soil-gas sampling probes into fuel-contamninated and uncontaminated soils of the vadose zone and venting these soils with air over a _period of time. Measurement of C0 2 and 02 concentration of soil gas will be made, before any air injection. After air injection is turned off. CO 2 and 02 concentrations of soil gas will be monitored periodically over time. The experiment will be terminated when the 02 concentration of yhe soil gas reduces to about 5%7. C02 and 02 will be measured using a Gastechtor Model 32520X. This instrument measures C0 2 by an infrared absorption method while the 02 is measured with an electrochemical cell. The instrument will be field calibrated befbre each sampling. Oxygen utilization rates are then typically calculated as zero order. To compare the respiration rates and resulting biodegradation rates with active bioventing measurement and other sites in the literature, a stoichiometric relationship of the oxidation of the fuel is required. Hexane (C ) will be used as the representative hydrocarbon for the jet fuel for the purpose of comparing the C62 and 02 rates. The stoichiometric relationship is given by: C6H COa +l7h

13 JWULd&j-I 1tO i j;d( e-tcuri rihiicllt iria-mvu r rij3(c.)fl-ujzde r * 1 Based on oxygen utilization rates (percent/day), biodegradation rates in terms of mg/kg.day art computed by assuming a soil bulk density of 1,440 kg/rn 3 and a porosity of 0.30 by the following equation: Kg =-K, A D 0 C x1/1007vx 24 hr/day where: Ks = biodegradation rate (rng/kg.day) 1(0 = oxygen utilization rate (%Thr) A Do= = volume of airlkg of soil (Ilkg) in this case 300/1440 = 0.21 density of oxygen gas (mg/i), assumed to be 1330 mg/i C =Mass ratio of hydrocarbon to oxygen required for mineralization, assumed to be from equation (1) above. Final Field Sampling At the conclusion of field operations a final soil and groundwater sampling event will occur. Sampling will be conducted to be analogous to the initial site characterization. Samples will be analyzed for petroleum hydrocarbon concentration to evaluate the overall effectiveness of the remnediation effort. Health and Safety Considerations; No unusual risks are expected as a result of project activities. Level D protective gear will be worn by all site personnel during project activities. Level C protective gear will be available for use should conditions warrant an upgrade in personal protection. During drilling and digging operations a hand held HC measurement device will be used to monitor HC exposure. Work practices will be such that NC concentrations in the breathing zone will be kept at a minimum. Decontamination of sampling equipment will be conducted in designated areas.

14 JUL-U62r1'Z~l1~ ±Q rguii Z'Il-. 1C).)JU Si.I.JJW' I 12 Site personnel will be equipped with gear appropriate for the weather and hard hats will be worn when working in the vicinity of overhead hazards (i.e., drilling rig). Drinking, eating and smoking will only be allowed in designated area. All applicable Air Force safety regulations will be followed. Qualit-Y Assurance The EPA portion of this effort is a EPA Category IV quality assurance project. A quality assurance project plan (QAPP) will be designed for the performance of this study. The QAPP will address quality assurance (QA) objectives, sampling and analytical procedures, and the organizational approach to QA. While the Air Force does not require a QAPP for their project, the same QA guidelines will be applied to both the EPA and the Air Force projects to ensure comparability of data, and the QAPP will address the whole study. FialRp At the completion of the study all data and conclusions will be assembled in a final report. An assessment will be made as to the utility of active soil warming for increasing degradation rates in comparison to the passive warming and ambient temperature biodegradation studies. An assessment will be made concerning the cost effectiveness of active and passive soil warming biodegradation techniques.